Crime & Safety

Concentrated Patrol Effort in Watkinsville Yields Arrests, Citations

Watkinsville Police hosted the Piedmont Area Traffic Enforcement Network Friday night.

Sixty officers representing fifteen northeast Georgia law enforcement agencies including the State Patrol worked together to conduct a concentrated patrol effort in Watkinsville Friday night. It was coordinated through the Piedmont Area Traffic Enforcement Network, which is organized by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O'Dillon said the road check, from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., focused on the three approaches to the intersection of Ga. Highway 53 and Ga. Highway 15 near .  Additionally, for about an hour following the coordinated check, there were roving patrols and traffic stops throughout the city, he said.

Among the arrested was Larry Willoughby, 55, of Cedar Hill Circle, charged with possession of methamphetamine, DUI, open container, obstruction of a police officer and tampering with evidence, according to O'Dillon's news release.

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Officers also made an arrest for DUI and another for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Two were charged with no license and one for revoked license, and officers issued citations for four expired tags and eight seat belt violations, O'Dillion added. 

"This is the first time we had hosted [a concentrated patrol], but it won’t be the last," he said.

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These kinds of patrols and enforcement serve as deterrents for illegal behavior, he said.

“If [motorists] know they don’t have insurance or know they’re going to be drinking and driving, they'll know it’s going to get expensive," O'Dillon said.  "It’s to keep them on their toes and make them think twice about going on the roads.”

 

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